Road guard



Jan 2r 1951 w. c. MARTIN ET Al. 2,536,760

ROAD GUARD Filed Jan. 15, 1947 @24 lll] o v INVENTOR. WML/AM C. MART/N Patented Jan. 2, 1,951

ROAD GUARD William C. Martin and Donald Keith Macleod,

Wooster, Ohio, assignors to United Steel Fabricators, Inc., Wooster, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application anuary 15, 1947, Serial No. 722,120

1 Claim.

,Y This invention relates to guards for roads, vhighways and the like, and as one of its objects aims to provide an improved guard of this type which is of a very simple form of construction enabling the same to be economically manufactured and erected but which nevertheless is very rugged and durable.

' Another Objectis to provide an improved road 'guard of this kind embodying supporting posts and a longitudinal rail and in which there are no sharp edges orl abrupt projections located in exposed positions and on which personal injury would be sustained if a person were thrown thereagainst, and in meeting this condition the rail of the improved guard is so constructed that the top thereof forms a smooth continuous longitudinal safety edge.

2 Y one of the supporting posts and a joint between two of the rail members;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional View, on a larger scale, taken through one of the rail joints as in- A further object is to provide a road guard of l this character in which the rail has longitudinal corrugations forming continuous longitudinal ribs on the trafiilc side of the guard and wherein the tops of such ribs and the top edge of the rail all have a smooth convex transverse curvature.

Still another object is to provide a road guard of the character mentioned in which the rail comprises a series of metal members which are tapered longitudinally and have their adjacent ends connected together by joints formed by having the small end of one member telescoped into the large end of the adjacent member.

As a further object this invention provides a road guard of this kind in which the large ends of the connected members point in the direction of traffic movement so that the shingling effect thus produced eliminates projecting shoulders onV which personal injury could be sustained.

This invention also provides a road guard having a rail of increased beam strength through the use of oval-shouldered bolts for clamping together the telescoping portions of adjacent rail members. 1 Still another object is to provide an improved road guard in which the rail has a series of longitudinally spaced holes affording a selection or variation in the locations at which the supporting posts are to be set or driven. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheet of drawings in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a road guard embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a detached face view of one of the rail members as seen from the traffic side thereof;

Fig. 3 is a partial elevational view of the guard. as seen from the traic side thereof and showing line 1 1 of Fig. 5.

As one embodiment of the invention the accompanying drawing,r shows an improved road guard Ill comprising a series of spaced upright posts II and a continuous longitudinal rail I2 supported by such posts. As is usual in road guards of this character, the posts II are set or driven in the ground along the side of a road or highway and the rail I2 is attached to the posts on the trailic side thereof, that is to say, the side facing the road or highway.

The posts I I can be of any suitable type or construction and, in this instance, are wood posts of a substantially square vcross-sectional shape. Posts made of metal or other suitable material and posts of other suitable cross-sectional shapes could lbe used if desired. When wood posts'v are employed, the tops of the posts can easily be trimmed after they have been set or erected to a desired height so that the tops of the posts will bear .a certain relation to the top edge of the rail, as is explained hereinafter.

The rail I2 is a continuous longitudinal metal rail formed by connected members or sections I4 Iwhich are of a suitable length enabling the same to be conveniently manufactured, transported and assembled. The members I 4 are of a corrugated form and have an angular or re-entrant cross-sectional shape. As shown in the drawing the members I4 have two vertically spaced corrugationsfl and IB therein which form continuous longitudinal ribs I5a and ia on the traiiio side of the rail. The corrugations I5 and I6 are connected by an intermediate web portion I'I which forms a continuous longitudinal at face I'ia on the rail. f

It is an important characteristic of the improved road guard that the top of the rail I2 has a smooth continuous longitudinal safety top edge I 8. The safety edge I 8 is formed by an extension of the upper corrugation I6 and has a convex transverse curvature at the top or apex thereof which merges into the downwardly diverging at longitudinal portions or legs forming, respectively, the upper web portion I6b of the corruga-y tion I6 and the rearwardly and downwardly eX- tending flange I9. The transverse convex curvature and the smooth longitudinally continuous character of the ,top edge I8 contribute .a safety feature or characteristic to the rail such that if a traffic accident should occur, as by an automobile striking the road guard and resulting in a person being thrown against the top edge of the rail, he will not be seriously cut as would be the case.

the top of the rail were irregular or had an exf posed sharp edge. The downwardly .diver-ging relation of the dat longitudinal web .and ,fiange portions IE and I9 provide the longitudinal safety edge I8 with increased Width which renders it less harmful to persons thrown thereagainst. It is also important that the tops of the ribs i5a and ita are longitudinally continuous and have. a smooth transverse convex curva.- ture and thus do not present sharp` edges or. projecting shoulders against which personal injury or vehicle damage would be likely to occur.

The longitudinally extending intermediate fiat portionor strip i? provides .the rail with the hat face I'a which is adapted for ush or smooth engagement with -the iront faces I Ia .of the .sup-

porting posts Li. The cross-sectional shape of the members ifs -is such that -when the -r-ail is se cured against the posts by means .of the fconnecting ,bolts 2i, the top .and bottom rear edges 22 and 23 will bear against the front faces I'ia of the posts .as .shown in Fig. 5. Such engagement `of these edges with the posts provides additional support for the `rail which will enable the same to more :strongly resistvdeiiection or displacement due .to impacts deli-tiered rthereagainst by vehicles.

Another novel feature .of .the rail members id is .that the fiat portions I'I-a thereof have holes .215 spaced therealong and ycertain of which are used for the bolts 2i by `which the rail is mounted on the posts. By providing such va series of holes in ther-ail the positions at which the posts -I- are to be located can b-e shifted by small incrementsso as to avoid joints between vthe rail members I .or to avoid .stones or other V.obstructions which .would interfere with a proper setting of the pests in the ground. The holes 2li are preferably in .the form of .ovalslots as shown iin Figs. 3 Aand i hav-ing their major axes extending longitudinally of the rail. The clamping bolts 2I 'have .ovalshaped shoulders Zia thereon adapted `to fit Vinto the oval slots 2li for holding the bolts against rotation and thus facilitating .the `tightening of the nuts Zi-b thereon. These bolts also have smooth oval heads 21o thereon which present no abrupt projectionsv adapted -to cause vehicle damage or personal injury.

Another important feature of the improved road guard A''is that the members t4 are tapered longitudinally-fortheir full lengthand yeach member has a -large end and a small end` Mb. When the members -Ili are mounted on the posts .II the small end Mib of one member is Atelescoped into .the largeend vidaof -an ladjacent member so as .to form an overlapping joint 25 :as shown in Fig. 3. The end portions Illa andV I-Ib 4are :provided. .with similar-ity located holes :26 which are brought intoregistration and through 'which the `clamping bolts 2i extend. The holes 2E are simila;` .to the .above 'mentioned rholes 2.4, vthat is to say, they are inthe formof oval'slots having 'their major faxes extending longitudinally :of the rail; 'll-hefbolts 2l 'havewsmoothovalheads Zia and also haveova-l shoulders-:2lb thereon which fit into the holesv ,26; and fhave. an :axial length substantially equal to the combined thickness of the telescoping portions.

By making the members I4 of a longitudinally tapered form so that the ends of adjacent members will .have a telescoping engagement of an appropriate length with each other and by providing the oval holes 26 and the oval-shouldered clamping bolts 21, it will be seen that the beam 4strength of the rail I2 will have a 'maximum value because the joints 2'5 embodying these characteristics will be strong and rigid. The fact that the .axes .of the oval holes 26 extend longitudinally of the rail also minimizes the extent to which the rail is weakened by such holes. The oval shape for these holes holds the bolts against turning thus permitting a tight joint to be y formed during erection of the guard. It will also be ,seen that .by reason of the fact that .the heads 27a of ,th'e'bolts 2] are `of a smooth .ovalshape they will not present abrupt shoulders or projections on the traffic side vof the rail against which personal injury or vehicle damage might occur.. When the above-described oval-shouldered .bolts 2l' are employed in the joint 2.5 only a small numbercf .these bolts. is required and hence the work involved .infabricating and assembling .the sections .I4 lessened.

In accordance with another feature of the, present invention the rail I2A is formed by assembling themembers I4..so that the large ends Ilia thereof point .in the direction of travel of the traffic in the lane `adjacent to the guard. When the members I4 are arranged in. this mannerthe large ends Ma will provide a shingling. effect for .the ljoints 25 such that the overlap. of the large .ends willextend with the traiiic and there .willbe no vexposedshoulder or projection against which personal injury or vehicle damage could be sustained.

Reverting to the .posts .I I, it will be noted that the rail I1 is mounted on the posts so that the safety topf edge I8 will extend above the tops of the posts as .shown in Fig. .5. The tops of the posts .are preferablycut or trimmed .so as to provide a .top surface IIb which slopes. away from the rail. the safety edge I8 of the .rail they will be shielded by the rail and will .not .present abrupt-shoulders or projections againstwhich aperson would` be likely 'to be injured.

From. the .foregoing description and the-vaccompanying drawing it will now be readily un.- derstood that this invention provides an im.- proved road vguard .which is of a very simple-construction .butwhich is nevertheless very rugged and durable. It will also be seen that the construction of the improved road guard .embodies safetyv features and characteristics eliminating any exposed sharp edges or ,abrupt projections against which'personal injury or vehicle damage would V.'rtherw'ise' be likely to occur.

Although the improved road guard has been illustrated and described herein in some detail,v it will be understood Aof course that this is not to be construed as ya limitation and that the invention includesy all changes and modihcations .coming .within .the scope of the appended claim'.

Having thus described our zinventionxweclaim':

A road `guard comprising a. series-of spaced posts, and a metal rail attached to saidv posts and disposed .on the roadside thereof, :said lrail having a pai-'r .of .vertically spaced `longitudinally extending .corrugations .therein forming :contrex ribs on the roadside of .the Yrail and a .longitud-if nallyv extending flat strip between the corruga- Since the tops of the Vposts lie belowV tions and engaging the posts, the longitudinal. lower edge of the lower corrugation being a continuous substantially flat longitudinal flange ex.- tending downwardly and rearwardly away from the road and engaging said posts and the longi tudinal upper portion of the upper corrugation having an integral longitudinal extension thereon which is transversely curved away from the road and includes a substantially fiat continuous longitudinal flange extending downwardly and rearwardly into engagement with said posts, said eX- tension forming a continuous convex longitudi nal top safety edge on the rail which projects above the highest point 0f the tops of said posts.

WILLIAM C. MARTIN. DONALD KEITH MACLEOD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

